Sunday, October 24, 2010

Have you ever had one of those days when you were out running errands and suddenly, you realized you were hungry? But soon after, you don't know what you're hungry for? So you end up driving home, thinking to yourself that if I see something interesting on the way, I'll make a stop and grab a bite. Well, for some reason, I ended up stopping at Rick's Drive-In. I don't even know if I was in the mood for any kind of burger, but I've been driving by Rick's for years and have heard off and on that they have pretty good food, so I decided to give it a try. After waffling over the menu choices, I went for the Taco in a Bun with French fries.

Why Taco in a Bun? I'm not quite sure. Perhaps because I wasn't in the mood for a traditional burger so at least, this might be a bit different. I didn't even bother asking what was in it when I ordered it. I just went for it. After unwrapping it and taking a closer look, I saw that it basically had the components of a taco with seasoned meat, lettuce, tomato, and cheese on a burger bun with mustard. Yes, this really was Taco in a Bun, at least an Americanized version of a taco.

So I dug in. Was it the best Taco in a Bun Burger I ever had? I can't say since this is the only one I've ever had, but it hit the spot. If you're really hungry, this burger was a good size, so that's a plus. As for the taco meat itself, it wasn't seasoned enough for my taste; but adding hot sauce was helpful in the taste department. Other than that, the bread was soft and the vegetables were fresh, all good things in my book. Is it something I'd crave or go out of my way to get again? Not really. But for one afternoon, that Taco in a Bun was enough to satisfy the hollow feeling in my belly and sometimes, that's good enough. By the way, the French Fries were some of the best I've ever had, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I'd stop by just for those.

However, while writing this post, I remembered that a friend had blogged about her experience at Rick's Drive-In and when I looked up that post again, she mentioned a menu item that crazily enough may merit a repeat visit to Rick's Drive-In sometime soon. Have you ever heard of the Spuderito? Simply, it's a French fry burrito with fries, cheese and hot sauce. Check out my friend's video below. Come on, you know want one, too. :)

For the past couple of weeks, the little bird below has been randomly tapping at my 2nd floor office window. The bird's feathers seem quite fitting for fall, with its shades of red, rust and brown and overall, it's such a pretty little thing. I'm not sure why all the tapping, but he (or she) seems quite persistent. Anyway, if anyone knows what kind of bird this is, I'd love to know. You can see more pictures by clicking here.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Throughout the year, Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Restaurant offers seasonal prix fixe menus throughout all their restaurants. Their 3-course Fall Prix Fixe menu is currently available for $35.95 per person, which includes a fresh and flavorful appetizer, entrée and dessert. Recently, I was invited to a hosted Media Dinner at Roy's by Liz Murphy of Formula PR Inc to sample some of the dishes featured on this fall menu.

Our tasting menu started with "Elaine's" Kabocha Squash Salad with Cinnamon Spiced Pepitas and Cranberry Vinaigrette. Who's Elaine you may ask? She's the winner of a recent contest on Roy's Facebook where their Facebook followers got to suggest two ingredients that would be used for a salad and the winner was Elaine. Congrats to Elaine. As for the salad, it was a nice combination of flavors from the tartness of the cranberry vinaigrette to the sweet and woody nuttiness of the cinnamon-spiced pepitas.

The second course was easily my favorite of the night and it was the Blackened Rock Shrimp and Red Bean Soup with Portuguese Sausage and Shishito. What a hearty and a fall appropriate soup. It was filling and full of flavor and I enjoyed the hit of heat that came from the shishito peppers.

Next to arrive was the Artichoke and Goat Cheese Crusted Salmon with Sundried Tomato Sauce. I really liked the golden crust on the surface of the salmon and enjoyed eating the little bites of embedded artichoke pieces, but where oh where was the goat cheese? Perhaps there wasn't enough added to the fish. Goat cheese to me has these pungent flavors and there's a bite to it that I adore. If the promise of the goat cheese had been fulfilled, this would have been a much better dish.

Following the salmon came the Cilantro Grilled Tiger Shrimp with Stewed Curried Lentils. At my table of four, this was the least favorite dish of the group. However, the spicy and peppery cilantro complimented the sweetness of the shrimp, so I enjoyed it; however, the curried lentils didn't do it for me. The flavor of the lentils seemed muddied and heavy to me. It was hard to distinguish what seasoning was used to cook them. All of them just melded together.

From sea to land and up next was the Tender Braised Beef Short Ribs with Creamy Mashed Potatoes and Natural Braising Sauce and indeed the short ribs were tender and those mashed potatoes were definitely creamy. I also liked the playfulness of how the mashed potatoes were piped to form a spiral shape.

Finally, it was time for dessert and on one plate, we were served both the Pumpkin and Ginger Cheese Cake with a Pumpkin Anglaise and Roy’s Melting Hot Chocolate Soufflé, which is a Flourless Chocolate Cake with a Molten Hot Center served à la Mode. I should probably mention that cheese cake isn't a favorite dessert of mine. It's not that I have anything against it, but there are other desserts I'd rather order.

Having said that, it's a good cheesecake and you can definitely taste the pumpkin. I also really liked the ginger cream that was served with the cheesecake and the pepita brittle was pretty darn good as well. I've had Roy's Melting Hot Chocolate Souffle before and it's just as good now as it was the first time I had it a few years ago. It's hard to resist a chocolate cake with oozing chocolate sauce. I know I couldn't.

To end, I always appreciate it when a restaurant changes up its menu to fit the season. For one thing, it makes use of ingredients that are at their best. Second, for regular diners, it's a nice change from the regular menu and it's an invitation to come back and visit if you hadn't been at the restaurant in awhile. So if you hadn't come by Roy's downtown LA location, now may be the time.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

When the food truck explosion started getting bigger and bigger, the one thing that I kept looking for was a Filipino Food Truck. Where or where was my dream mobile truck that would be dispensing tasty dishes of chicken adobo and beef tapa? Finally, it happened. The Manila Machine Food Truck was born and owned and operated by none other than two fellow food bloggers, Marvin Gapultos of Burnt Lumpia and Nastassia Johnson of Let Me Eat Cake. So as soon as I could, I set up a tasting for my dining group, Pleasure Palate, where my members would get to try 8 items from their menu, which became 9 with a surprise coming from Nastassia.

Our Filipino food odyssey started with Tapsilog, which was sweet calamansi beef served with garlic-fried rice and a fried egg. Before I talk about this dish, here's a little bit of information. When it comes to Filipino Breakfast, it's all about the silog. Basically, a silog is a combination of garlic-fried rice ("sinangag"), and fried egg ("itlog") plus your choice of a sweet or salty meat, all on one plate. The names of the breakfast dishes themselves are determined by which protein you pick for your silog plate. The Tapsilog is so named because Tap represents Tapa, which are fried slices of marinated beef.

Basically, we started our tasting with breakfast which actually seemed appropriate. As for this Tapsilog, I would have liked a little more garlic with my rice, but other than that, this dish was a perfect starter. I liked the sour citrusy notes of the beef that came from the calamansi juice it was marinated in and a perfect Filipino breakfast isn't the same without breaking the egg and mixing the rice with the yolk and a splash of banana ketchup, which I did after I took my photo.

Our second course and third dish was Chicken Adobo served with Lumpia (Filipino eggroll). The lumpia was nice and crispy and was tasty after being dipped in the sweet and sour sauce, but one thing I'd recommend is to have little containers of vinegar and garlic. That's actually my dipping sauce of choice when it comes to lumpia.

When it comes to Chicken Adobo, there are so many different ways to cook it and every Filipino mother will say that their version is the best. Basic ingredients for an adobo dish include vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaf, and black pepper, but how much or how little of each ingredient can vary from cook to cook. The Manila Machine's Chicken Adobo was pretty good and it hit the right flavor notes of what adobo should taste like. In fact, I always judge a good adobo by whether or not I want to pour the sabao (sabao refers to the liquids leftover from a dish after it's been stewed or sauteed) over my rice and eat it that way and yes, this was a good adobo.

Next up was the Longganisa Slider, which is sweet pork and garlic sausage topped with caramelized onions, arugula, and mango jam on a pan de sal roll. I totally have to give props to The Manila Machine. When I eat pan de sal, it's usually toasted with butter and sometimes a sprinkle of sugar. Perhaps, it's been done as a sandwich before, but it never even crossed my mind, except to eat it the way I grew up eating it.

I enjoyed how the flavors of all the ingredients went together, especially the addition of the arugula which added some lovely peppery notes to the slider. One minor thing is that I would cut back just a little on the mango jam because its sweetness was a tad overwhelming. I wasn't able to taste the garlic from the sausage as much as I had wanted.

It's been a lot of meaty goodness so far, but for a surprise, we were also treated to ice cream bars with flavors like mango and halo halo. Halo Halo, for those of you don't know, means mix mix in Tagalog and refers to a Filipino shaved ice dessert with milk, jellies, sweetened beans and fruits. I went for the halo halo ice cream bar and it was a nice cool treat.

Ok, ice cream bar break over and now it's time for Sisig, which is spicy calamansi-marinated pork cheeks, onions, and chicharon and is served over steamed jasmine rice. I thought the addition of the chicharon added a nice salty, crunch component that I really enjoyed and it went well with the softer texture of the meat. The only thing I thought was missing was the heat. When I read that something is spicy, I expect it to be spicy and the sisig wasn't quite there.

Next up was the Spam Slider. I love Spam. Growing up as a kid, I've had spam either for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Most of the time, it's just cut in slices and fried and other times, it's coated in egg batter and fried. Even today, I still eat Spam, so I was quite happy to see a Spam Slider on The Manila Machine menu.

I do have to say that when I fry Spam, I prefer it thinly cut, so the spam for this slider was a little too thick for my taste and coupled with an over easy egg, it was a little difficult to eat as is. Here's my tip. Take the egg off the slider. Break the yolk, mix a little more banana ketchup in that yolk and dip the sandwich into it before taking a bite. Repeat. When there's no more yolk, slide the egg back into your sandwich and finish it of from there. It worked for me. I'm sure it'll work for you, too.

As our last savory dish, we got to try the Carabao Wings. As of that tasting, we were the first to try this dish. I'm not sure if it's part of the regular menu yet, but it should be. The Carabao Wings are basically fried chicken wings with a sweet and spicy adobo glaze. It's a recipe that Marvin first posted on his blog in January of this year. Click here to get the recipe. This was one of my favorite dishes of our tasting. If I wasn't already so full, I would have snatched the tray from Marvin's hands and gobbled them up all by myself. As it was, I managed to enjoy at least a couple of wings before dessert.

For dessert, we had both the Ube Cupcakes, which are made from purple yam and Turon, which is a banana and jackfruit fried eggroll topped with a caramel sauce. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the Ube Cupcake, but you can see what it looks like on Nastassia's blog by clicking here and you can even see her recipe for it by clicking here. I thought the Ube Cupcake was moist, tasty and the coconut frosting rocked.

As for the Turon, I liked it, but it's different from what I've had before. I could be wrong, but it didn't seem like any brown and/or white sugar was sprinkled on the bananas or jackfruit before it was wrapped in the eggroll wrapper. The sweetness of this dessert then comes primarily from the caramel sauce that's drizzled over it.

What I love about the turon I've enjoyed in the past is because of that sugar that is added to the fruit. As the turon eggroll is fried, there's a delicious caramelization that permeates through to the surface of the wrapper itself. You get a "burnt sugar" taste that's similar to when the surface of a creme brulee is torched. However, my group went gaga over the caramel sauce for this version of turon, so on its own, it's still a tasty dessert.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable tasting event. Nastassia's and Marvin's enthusiasm for Filipino food and their truck was quite palpable and I just love the idea that more and more people can be introduced to a cuisine that is still very much unknown and under-appreciated. The Manila Machine is a great way to be introduced to Filipino food and hopefully, from there, people will seek out Filipino restaurants and get even more exposure to what our cuisine is all about.

Since then, two other Filipino food trucks have come on board, but The Manila Machine will always be known as the first Filipino Food Truck in LA and the first to open the doors for other Filipino Food Trucks that are now part of the Los Angeles Food Truck landscape. Salamat to Marvin and Nastassia!

Monday, October 18, 2010

After my first visit to Rivera, I thought the food was fantastic, but with the introduction of new menus, I think the food is even more fantastic. When it comes to Latin Food, Chef John Rivera Sedlar, owner-chef of Rivera Restaurant truly believes in giving the diners at his restaurant a real sense of Latin Food history. Last July, along with his main CONEXIONES menu, he introduced 3 special regional menus available only in specific dining rooms within Rivera.

In the Sangre Room, the focus is on the Iberian roots of Latin Cooking; thus, the foods that are featured are from Spain and Portugal. The menu in the Samba Room is all about foods with South American, Central American and Caribbean influences while at the Playa Bar, it's all about seafood-themed cuisine inspired by Mexico as well as inspiration from the Southwest. If you can't decide, you can even opt for a Tasting Menu that includes 8 dishes from all three menus.

Last July, I was hosted along with a few other restaurant bloggers for a preview of the dishes that would be featured on the Conexiones menu as well as in the three menus mentioned above. In the end, our meal consisted of 15 total courses. Our first course was the Cabeza de Oro (from the Playa menu) with foie gras, lobster, scallop, truffle, jamon iberico and caviar. All the ingredients were layered on a golden head and it's definitely a luxurious way to start a meal.

From the Samba Menu came our second course, an Argentine Mushroom Carpacchio with king oyster, bluefoot, chanterelle mushrooms, chimichurri spices and combava lime. I'm a big mushroom fan, so I was already sold when I saw this dish on our Tasting Menu and it didn't disappoint.

Our third course came from the main Conexiones menu and it was Equadorian Crudo with hiromasa, kumquats, Fresno chiles and chives. I enjoyed the freshness of the fish, but I thought it needed more of the kumquat for additional tartness.

Also from the Conexiones menu was the Post-Colombian Gazpacho, a traditional cold heirloom tomato soup. I'm not sure what was added to this soup other than tomatoes, but there's a depth of flavor in this soup that I wasn't expecting, but definitely enjoyed.

Next to arrive was the Chile Relleno, which was an Anaheim chile stuffed with buratta cheese and topped with martian red corn salsa and Cherokee tomatoes. When I went online to check out Rivera's current menus, this dish wasn't listed in any of them. Perhaps, it was a seasonal dish or it didn't make the final cut? Regardless, I found it quite tasty and hope that it is just a seasonal dish that will make a return appearance.

The Flan de Elote, a corn custard with black quinoa and squash blossom sauce, can be found on the Conexiones menu. This was definitely one of my favorite dishes of the night. I loved the sweet creamy texture of the corn custard paired with the chewy mouth feel of the quinoa.

From the Playa menu, a must order is the Chile Guero Relleno with tempura chile, crab, corn, soy, ginger and scallion. I really enjoyed the Asian-Latin fusion of ingredients and flavors. I had to share this dish, but I could have easily eaten all 4 by myself.

One of my least favorite dishes of the night were the Venezulan Arepas which were made up of traditional fried corn cakes and a soft shell crab in the style of Cartagena, Colombia from the Samba menu. I've never had an arepa before, but from what I've seen on tv and what I've read about it, an arepa is more of a sandwich made using a bread made from corn (but not necessarily corn bread). What I saw in front of me didn't fit my idea of what an arepa was supposed to be, plus in general, I just found the whole dish underwhelming flavor-wise.

Another standout and from the Playa menu, was the Clam Tamalli. The Clam Tamalli is a Pismo clam that was steamed with a sweet corn masa mix that included poblano chiles, garlic, oregano leaf and a blistered chile verde meuniere. Simply delicious.

Our next dish was the Parilla, a rib-eye filet with habanero chimichurri and yucca chips and it comes from the Conexiones menu. The meat was tender and juicy and I liked the crunch of the yucca chips. It's not as imaginative a dish as some of the dishes we had tried so far, but if you're in the mood for meat and potatoes, this is the dish for you.

I wasn't really into the Brazilian Feijoada dish which was a traditional black bean stew with lamb and came from the Samba menu. I've only had feijoida once before and it was mind-blowing. The black beans had been stewed for a couple of days with various cuts of meats so the flavor was amazing. In comparison, the Rivera version of the feijoada just didn't cut it for me, especially in regards to the black beans which didn't have the pure meaty flavor of what I had before.

Also from the Samba menu were the Bolivian Anticuchos, which were white sea bass skewers marinated with spicy aji peppers coated with semilla salsa. I really enjoyed the flavors, but found the sea bass itself to be a bit dry. Perhaps, it marinated too long and as a result, it was "cooked" through more than it should have been.

Finally, after all the savory dishes, it was time for dessert and it started off with my favorite of the three we tried, which was the Hielo Y Fuego (Ice and Fire), a poblano chile sorbet with a port reduction. The juxtaposition between the spicy ice cream and the coolness of the port reduction worked perfectly together.

My second favorite dessert was the Xochimilco, which was an ancho chile chocolate cake, with avocado mousse and lime pepper sauce. Chile and chocolate? Yes, please and when you add the sweetness of the avocado mousse to the mix, the Xochimilco was definitely a palate pleaser.

Our last dessert was the Pan de Santa Teresa which is a Spanish lenten bread pudding with cherimoya ice cream, cactus pear esencia and salted peanuts. I'm not much of a bread pudding fan, but this one was pretty good, but what really made this dessert memorable was the tartly delicious cherimoya ice cream.

It was definitely quite a meal with definitely a lot of highs to it. I've always enjoyed the food at Rivera, but with these new menus, Rivera has only gotten that much better and is a place I'd continue recommend to anyone who wants to experience fantastic Latin cuisine.

Monday, October 11, 2010

When it comes to gourmet burgers in LA, I've had my share of some truly tasty ones from Father's Office to Umami Burgers to even an off menu burger from Jitlada. All these aforementioned places are already well-known in LA, so it was nice when my friend, Mary, introduced me to a burger place that's a little more under the radar; yet, served some pretty darn good burgers. I'm talking about The Fix Burger in the Silver Lake neighborhood.

While the Fix has more traditional burgers as well as create your own burger options, they also have Specialty Burgers where you can specify the meat. Your patty choices include beef, buffalo, turkey as well as a vegetarian option. Unfortunately, they used to carry ostrich, but aren't doing so at the moment due to supply issues. What's really cool about the Fix is that all their meats are organic and come from local ranches.

From the Specialty Burger choices, my friend went for the Rodeo Burger with bacon, onion rings, bbq sauce, mayo and cheddar, which she enjoyed immensely. Once you look at the picture below, you'll see why. The Fix wasn't shy about their ingredients.

For me, it was all about the Seoul Burger with mushrooms, Korean sauce, Korean slaw, jack and mayo. I opted for the buffalo burger and I have to admit that the buffalo meat surprised me, but in a good way. Knowing that buffalo tends to be leaner, I wasn't expecting my burger to be that juicy. Boy, was I wrong. That meat was definitely napkin-wiping juicy and I also liked how the meat's surface had a nice grilled char to it. Also, all the other ingredients went well together flavor-wise and in general, I enjoyed that burger bite by bite.

However, there were a couple of things that could have improved that burger even more, in my opinion. First, it needed some heat. Perhaps, it wasn't meant to be a spicy burger, but if either the Korean slaw and/or the Korean sauce was amped with chili and garlic, this Seoul Burger would seem even more like a "Seoul" burger. Second, the bun didn't hold as well as it could have been. Towards the tail end of eating my burger, the bread was getting a little too soggy for my taste.

Along with burgers and other sandwiches, the Fix also had a variety of sides to choose from. My friend and I shared their Homemade Onion Rings and Garlic Fries. I really enjoyed both of them. What I liked about their onion rings is they weren't greasy and that spices were added to the batter to give them some flavor. I tasted some black pepper and a hint of rosemary.

Their garlic fries were unlike anything I've had before. Usually, you get fried bits of garlic with your garlic fries, but the Fix does something completely different. Their garlic fries are topped with roasted salty/sweet chunks of garlic, so you get a two texture eating experience. First, there's the crispness of the fries and then there's the soft texture of the roasted garlic. I was definitely "fix"ated on those fries.

Overall, I really enjoyed my meal at the Fix. Even now, the memory of that juicy buffalo burger still lingers and I am looking forward to a return trip so that I can try some of the other burgers on their menu. I've also heard really good things about their shakes, so a peanut butter shake may be in my imminent future as well. So the next time you're in the Silver Lake area, get a "Fix" on The Fix Burger and you just might find a new favorite burger joint.

Thanks to a tweet by @rasprague and a retweet by @Chef_Day, I got a really good laugh from this YouTube Video showing a Filipino Food Comedy Routine by Comedian, Rex Navarrete. Check it out for yourself.

I even found a video by Rex talking about our love affair with pork/lechon, which is both funny and speaks the truth about our obsession with all things porky, from fried skin to the guts to the intestines and more.

Monday, October 04, 2010

San Antonio Winery, Southern California’s most awarded Winery, invites all wine lovers to join them at the “Riboli Family Winemaker’s Dinner” on Saturday, October 9, 2010

The Riboli Family Winemaker’s Dinner, offered only once a year provides the opportunity to learn about the world of wines in a fun, relaxed setting. The event will be hosted by Anthony Riboli and Michael Papalia. There will be a four course gourmet menu designed to be paired with the featured wines, specially chosen from the Riboli Family Library.

About Me

I'm a Dining Group Organizer and Food Blogger who has a passion for all things tasty and absolutely loves setting up culinary outings all over LA! If you'd like to contact me, my email address is abby@pleasurepalate.com.